Includes bibliographical references.

Front cover; Title page; Contents; Greetings to Our Readers; 1. The Self Psychology Perspective; The basics of self psychology; The therapeutic work of self psychology ; The imprint of Kohut's person on self psychology; Empathy as the Way to Be in the World; Religion as an Indispensable Great Cultural Selfobject; Self Psychology as Supraordinate Enterprise; End Notes; 2. Self Injury and the Human Condition; Drives are not the primary problem; Drives and original sin: from Augustine to Freud; From 'guilty man' to 'tragic man'; Moving away from the Oedipus conflict; Self injury and narcissism.

ConclusionEnd Notes; 3. Kohut and the Seven Deadly Sins; Deadly sins and narcissistic injuries; Sin and self fragmentation; End Notes; 4. A New Pastoral Care Orientation for Parishioners; Pre-marital visit; Consultation with organist; 10:30 Worship service; Pastoral visit with elderly parishioner; St. L's worship; Visit with disabled/retiring colleague; Catching up with T; From meditation to beating of drums; Conclusion; End Notes; 5. Pastoral Care of the Church as a Group Self; Observing and understanding the church's self; Narcissistic Aims; Selfobject Relationships.

Regulation of Self CohesionHealing responses to fragmented parishes; Disintegrating Parish Selves; Immobilized Parish Selves; Devitalized Parish Selves; 6. First Interview with Heinz Kohut; 7. Second Interview with Heinz Kohut; 8. Getting Something from Kohut's Perspective on Religion; Randall's response to the interviews; Defending Religion; Illuminating Religion; Conjoining Religion; Cooper's response to the interviews; Religion and Human Needs; Religion "through the Backdoor"; Human Connection and Community; End Notes; Closing Words for Our Readers; Bibliography; Back cover.

Grace for the Injured Self shows the reader how the 'self psychology' developed by Heinz Kohut can be an influential theory for pastoral care. The late Kohut affirmed that religion is not only an expression of the self, but can also sustain the self in the alliance between faith and grace, with self psychology and empathy. Cooper and Randall articulately explore Kohut's psychoanalytic perspective of 'self psychology', orientated towards pastoral care for parishioners. The authors ascertain how the human condition is affected by 'self injury', and the relationship between this and the traditiona.

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